REPORT 

OF  THE 

Commission  of 
Hamilton  College  Alumni 

APPOINTED    BY 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEE5 

TO 

INVESTIGATE  AND  REPORT 

ON  THE 

Entrance  Requirements  and 
the  Curriculum 


JUNE,  1912 


Ithaca.  N.  Y. 

Andrus  &  Church 

1912 


REPORT 

OF  THE 

Commission  of 
Hamilton  College  Alumni 

APPOINTED    BY 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 

TO 

INVESTIGATE  AND  REPORT 

ON  THE 

Entrance  Requirements  and 
the  Curriculum 


JUNE,   1912 


Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Andrus  &  Church 

1912 


CONTENTS. 

Appointment  and  Work  of  the  Commission. 

Prefatory  Note. 

Section      I.   Historical  and  Statistical. 

Section    II.   Present  Situation  and  the  Problem. 

Section  III.   Recommendations  : 

A.  Entrance  Requirements. 

B.  Curriculum. 

C.  General  Educational  Policy. 


APPOINTMENT  AND  WORK  OF  THE 
COMMISSION. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Hamilton  Col- 
lege held  on  Wednesday,  June  29,  191 1,  it  was  resolved 
that  : 

"The  chairman  of  this  Board  shall  appoint  a  special 
commission  of  alumni  and  experts  on  education,  with  the 
fullest  powers  of  inquiry  and  investigation,  which  shall 
make  a  careful  study  of  the  present  curriculum  and  entrance 
requirements  of  Hamilton  College,  and  shall,  after  consul- 
tation with  the  members  of  the  faculty,  report  back  to  the 
Board  such  changes  and  alterations  as  to  them  may  seem 
expedient." 

The  chairman  of  the  Board,  The  Hon.  Elihu  Root,  ap- 
pointed as  such  commission  the  following  : 

H.  C.  G.  Brandt,  Class  of  1872,  Clinton,  N.  Y. 

A.  S.  Hoyt,  Class  of  1872,  Auburn,  N.  Y. 

G.  P.  Bristol,  Class  of  1876,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  Chairman. 

A.  B.  Davis,  Class  of  1878,  Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

C.  H.  Stone,  Class  of  1878,  Cornwall-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 

A.  C.  Mclyachlan,  Class  of  1881,  Jamaica,  N.  Y. 

C.  N.  Kendall,  Class  of  1882,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

E.  N.  Jones,  Class  of  1883,  New  York  City. 

E.  B.  Parsons,  Class  of  1884,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

George  Lawyer,  Class  of  1885,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

C.  B.  Cole,  Class  of  1887,  New  York  City. 

J.  D.  Rogers,  Class  of  1889,  Decatur,  111. 

E.  L.  Stevens,  Class  of  1890,  New  York  City. 

J.  M.  Curran,  Class  of  1892,  Chicago,  111. 

T.  F.  Collier,  Class  of  1894,  Providence,  R.  I.,  Secretary. 

A.  W.  Boesche,  Class  of  1897,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

The  chairman  of  the  commission  opened  correspondence 
with  the  other  members  early  in  the  autumn  of  191 1,  and 
after  receiving  from  nearly  all  of  them  their  preferences  for 
the  manner  of  procedure  and  for  the  subjects  of  immediate 


discussion,  called  a  meeting  of  the  commission  for  December 
2,  191 1.  The  commission  was  fortunate  in  being  able, 
through  the  courtesy  of  President  Pritchett,  to  hold  this 
and  its  later  meeting  at  the  offices  of  the  Carnegie  Founda- 
tion in  New  York  City,  and  records  here  their  grateful 
acknowledgement  of  this  favor. 

At  this  meeting  preliminary  resolutions  defining  the  com- 
mission's attitude  on  several  fundamental  questions  were 
adopted,  and  provision  was  made  for  continuing  the  work 
through  correspondence,  and  also  for  conferences  with 
members  of  the  Faculty  of  the  College. 

The  chairman  with  Messrs  Hoyt  and  Kendall,  as  a  special 
committee  visited  the  College  on  January  27,  1912.  They 
called  on  the  President,  and  afterward  spent  the  entire  day 
in  interviews  with  individual  members  of  the  Faculty.  The 
professors  were  requested  to  submit  written  statements  of 
their  views  if  desired,  and  a  number  of  them  did  so.  From 
the  stenographic  report  of  the  interviews,  and  from  the 
written  papers  sent  in  the  chairman  made  a  digest  of  the 
opinions  of  the  Faculty  for  each  member  of  the  commission. 
While  they  differed  in  a  number  of  points,  the  Faculty 
were  unanimously  in  favor  of  a  group  system  as  the  proper 
basis  for  the  curriculum*.  A  large  majority  of  them  favored 
the  inclusion  of  a  larger  number  of  subjects  in  the  entrance 
requirements,  and  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  degrees 
now  granted  to  two. 

Further  interchange  of  views  among  members  of  the 
commission  was  followed  by  a  second  and  final  meeting  in 
New  York  on  May  10  and  11,  191 2.  After  the  fullest  dis- 
cussion of  the  matters  entrusted  to  them  the  commission 
adopted  the  following  report. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

"Our  whole  (college)  system  of  instruction  needs  an 
honest,  thorough,  and  candid  revision.  It  has  been  for 
centuries  the  child  of  authority  and  precedent.  If  those 
before  us  made  it  what  it  is  by  applying  to  it  the  resources 
of  earnest  and  fearless  thought,  I  can  see  no  reason  why 
we,  by  pursuing  the  same  course,  might  not  improve  it." 

"  I  consider  that  a  great  step  has  been  made  in  a  refor- 
mation when  it  has  been  granted  that  the  present  system  is 
open  to  examination,  and  is  not  stereotyped  for  all  ages. 
When  this  is  done  there  is  hope  of  amendment."  Francis 
Wayland,  1854,  1855. 

The  distinguished  author,  scholar,  and  teacher  whose 
words  are  cited,  exercised  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
an  immense  influence  on  education,  and  particularly  on 
college  education.  He  was  no  radical,  no  iconoclast,  but  a 
clergyman  of  an  orthodox  church  as  well  as  president  of  a 
New  England  college.  He  recognized  that  dissatisfaction 
with  a  condition  is  the  first  and  necessary  step  in  its  im- 
provement. The  conditions  at  Hamilton  which  have  led  to 
the  appointment  of  this  commission  are  certainly  to  be  re- 
garded as  "  hopeful  "  ;  for  there  is  just  now  a  feeling  that 
the  educational  efficiency  of  the  college  is  not  so  great  as  it 
might  be. 

The  situation  thus  presented  is  one  frequently  recurring 
in  the  history  of  American  colleges.  Similar  problems  have 
been  studied  and  solved  in  various  ways  by  a  number  of 
them  with  traditions  and  life-histories  much  like  our  own. 
From  their  experiences,  and  the  conditions  resulting  there- 
from, we  may  get  assistance  in  our  work.  An  historical 
resume  seems  therefore  the  natural  and  reasonable  prelude 
to  any  discussion  of  the  present  case. 


vSECTION    I. 
HISTORICAL   AND   STATISTICAL. 

The  American  college  is,  as  is  well  known,  the  child  of 
English  parents.  From  old  Cambridge  came  the  impulses 
and  the  guiding  spirit  to  the  Cambridge  of  the  new  land. 
Graduates  of  Harvard  in  their  turn  inspired  and  guided  for 
more  than  a  generation  the  sister  college  at  New  Haven. 
From  the  latter  went  out  the  leaders,  and  the  controlling 
ideas  as  well,  for  several  others,  among  them  Princeton. 
All  information  available  shows  that  these  colleges  were 
practically  identical  in  aims  and  methods.  What  differences 
appear  are  due  more  to  the  possibility  here  or  there  of  car- 
rying out  more  efficiently  one  fundamental  purpose. 

President  Henry  Barnard  of  Columbia  stated  this  purpose 
concisely  :  ' '  Our  earliest  colleges  were  founded  on  the 
model  of  those  of  the  British  universities ;  and  here,  as 
there,  their  avowed  design,  at  the  time  of  their  foundation, 
was  not  merely  the  general  design  to  raise  up  a  class  of 
learned  men  ;  but  specifically  to  raise  up  a  class  of  learned 
men  for  the  Christian  ministry." 

The  Eighteenth  Century  Curriculum. 

In  1740,  Thomas  Clap,  the  newly  inducted  president  of 
Yale,  in  a  codification  of  the  laws  of  the  college  gives  us 
this  information  about  the  studies  of  the  institution  :  "  The 
President  and  each  of  the  tutors  shall,  according  to  the 
best  of  their  discretion,  instruct  and  bring  forward  their 
respective  classes  in  the  knowledge  of  the  three  learned 
languages  (Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin),  and  in  the  liberal  arts 
and  sciences.     Tabulating  his  scheme  it  runs  : 

First  Year. 

They  shall  principally  stud)'  the  Tongues  and  Logic 
(and  shall  in  some  measure  pursue  the  study  of  tongues  the 
two  next  years.) 


Second  Year. 

They  shall  recite  Rhetoric,  Geometry,  and  Geography. 

Third  Year. 

Natural  Philosophy,  Astronomy,  and  other  parts  of  the 
Mathematics. 

Fourth  Year. 

Metaphysics  and  Ethics. 

"  But  every  Saturday  shall  be  allotted  to  the  study  of 
Divinity.  On  Friday  each  undergraduate,  in  his  order, 
about  six  at  a  time,  shall  declaim  in  the  Hall  in  L,atin, 
Greek  or  Hebrew,  .  .  .  and  shall  presently  after  deliver 
up  his  declamation  to  his  tutor,  fairly  written  and  sub- 
scribed. And  the  two  senior  classses  shall  dispute  in  the 
Hall  twice  a  week." 

Any  one  who  compares  this  program  with  the  curriculum 
at  Hamilton  down  to  about  1882  will  be  convinced  of  the 
origin  of  the  latter,  and  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  little 
changed  in  substance  the  theory  and  practice  in  college 
training  had  been  during  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Not 
until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  there  any 
general  or  important  modification  in  its  character. 

Equally  clear  evidence  of  the  underlying  plan  and  pur- 
pose of  the  American  college  is  afforded  by  the  titles  of 
the  professorships.  Taking  six  colleges, — Harvard,  Dart- 
mouth, Brown,  Yale,  Columbia,  and  ^Princeton — we  find 
the  following  professorships  established  in  1802.  Divinity 
in  three  ;  Oriental  languages  in  two  ;  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy  in  all ;  Chemistry  and  Medicine  in  two  ; 
Greek  and  Latin  in  three.  Harvard  had  six  professorships 
in  all,  three  in  Medicine  ;  Columbia  four ;  Dartmouth, 
Yale,  and  Princeton,  three  each  ;  Brown  two. 

Report  in  1828  of  Yale  Faculty  to  the 
Corporation. 

In  1827  the  Corporation  of  Yale  College  referred  to  a 
committee  of  their  own  body  the  question   "of  so  altering 


the  regular  course  of  instruction  in  this  college,  as  to  leave 
out  of  said  course  the  study  of  the  dead  languages,  substi- 
tuting other  studies  therefor  ;  and  either  requiring  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  said  languages  as  a  condition  of  ad- 
mittance into  the  college  ;  or  providing  instruction  in  the 
same  for  such  as  shall  chose  to  study  them  after  admittance." 

The  committee  requested  the  faculty  to  express  their 
views,  and  the  faculty's  report  on  the  matter  was  made  the 
basis  for  the  action  (properly  speaking,  lack  of  action)  of 
the  corporation.  The  report  of  the  faculty  is  in  two  parts 
and  very  long.  It  is  a  complete  exposition  of  the  doctrine 
of  liberal  education  as  held  at  Yale  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  not  only  at  Yale  but  in  most  of  the 
colleges  closely  connected  with  her  in  academic  tradition. 

The  first  part  treats  of  the  general  plan  of  education  in 
the  college.  Young  men  are  to  learn  how  to  use  their 
minds  ;  they  are  to  "  lay  the  foundations  of  a  superior  edu- 
cation under  the  proper  substitute  for  parental  superin- 
tendence." We  find  here  a  distinction  made  between 
"liberal"  and  "professional"  studies.  Out  of  the  old 
united  faculty  of  one  college  have  now  developed  separate 
departments,  or  schools,  of  Theology,  Law  and  Medicine. 
We  in  the  United  States  have  in  general  been  about  a 
century  in  getting  back  to  the  old  idea  of  study  for  a  fixed 
purpose,  and  to  a  broader  notion  of  the  whole  field  and 
function  of  a  university.  Had  the  colleges  a  century  ago 
been  willing  to  admit  that  the  widened  field  of  knowledge 
made  necessary  a  wider  liberty  of  choice  in  the  fundamental 
subjects  of  higher  education,  separate  schools  of  medicine, 
and  other  forms  of  applied  science,  might  never  have  grown 
up  to  be  a  disgrace  to  our  education,  and  to  furnish  us  with 
generations  of  quacks  and  impostors. 

The  second  part  of  the  report  is  an  elaborate  argument 
for  the  retention,  as  the  center  of  the  whole  scheme,  of  Latin 
and  Greek.  The  arguments  are  the  familiar  ones  :  ' '  these 
literatures  are  the  only  perfect  models  ;  the  careful  learning 
of  the  structures  of  these  languages  is  the  best  possible  way 


to  understand  our  own  ;  the  example  of  the  English  col- 
leges," etc.  But  there  are  indications,  in  their  report  itself, 
that  the  writers  felt  themselves  somewhat  on  the  defensive. 
They  speak  of  ' '  parents  who  do  not  wish  their  sons  to  study 
what  seems  to  them  of  so  little  use  ;  "  they  admit  that  the 
prolonged  study  of  the  classics  will  be  of  more  direct  benefit 
to  the  lawyer  and  preacher  than  to  those  entering  other 
professions,  although  "the  physician  will  need  them  if  he 
study  the  history  of  his  subject."  In  reply  to  the  plea  that 
the  time  required  for  this  w7ork  puts  off  too  long  the  begin- 
ning of  studies  directly  professional,  they  say  that  the  stu- 
dent will  have  time  for  the  four  college  years  and  three 
years  of  professional  study  before  he  is  twenty  one.  Prob- 
ably few  succeeded  in  this.  There  is  further  an  implica- 
tion that  the  college  could  not  afford  financially  the  attempt 
to  give  instruction  in  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  and  it  is 
likely  that  this  fact,  in  other  places  as  well,  has  been  a 
strong,  though  unacknowledged  factor  in  similar  arguments. 
They  express  further,  the  belief  that  "  much  misconcep- 
tion concerning  the  utility  of  the  ancient  languages  has 
arisen  from  the  fact  that  they  have  been  but  partially 
studied  and  acquired."  They  believe  that  "the  terms  of 
admission  may  properly  be  raised  so  as  to  render  necessary 
as  a  condition  of  admission  much  greater  requirements  in 
the  classics  than  now  prescribed."  The  faculty  sees  clearly 
that  the  argument  for  the  supreme  excellence  of  the  ancient 
classics  in  education  rests  largely  on  the  results  of  the 
system  in  the  English  colleges,  and  that  it  is  deprived  of 
much  of  its  strength  if  the  study  is  not  carried  on  in  the 
same  way  and  to  the  same  amount.  Evidence  of  this  is 
furnished  \>y  their  statement,  "when  the  student  has  passed 
through  the  rugged  and  cheerless  region  of  elementary 
learning,  when  instead  of  plodding  over  a  page  of  Latin 
and  Greek  with  his  grammars  and  dictionaries  and  com- 
mentaries, he  reads  those  languages  with  facility  and  de- 
light." One  naturally  asks  "how  many  ever  reach  this 
stage?"     One  thing  is  noteworthy:   that  throughout  the 


8 

discussion  when  modern  languages  are  spoken  of,  there  is 
no  mention  of  German. 

The  Corporation  took  the  Faculty's  view  of  the  matter, 
declined  to  make  the  change  suggested,  and  decided  that  : 

1.  We  must  have  an  education  equal  to  the  best  in 
Europe. 

2.  This  training  must  endure  to  inspire  youth  with  pa- 
triotism. 

3.  "The  single  consideration  that  Divine  truth  was  com- 
municated to  man  in  the  ancient  languages  ought  to  put 
this  question  at  rest,  and  give  them  perpetuity."  (This 
phrase  is  attributed  to  Governor  Tomlinson,  of  Conn.,  a 
member  of  the  Corporation.) 

In  this  survey  of  the  development  of  the  curriculum  in 
New  England,  and  in  the  colleges  elsewhere  largely  or  al- 
together under  the  influence  of  Yale,  no  attention  has  been 
paid  to  other  institutions  which  took  a  differennt  road. 
There  were  a  number  of  them,  but  they  exercised  no  appre- 
ciable influence  on  the  college  in  which  we  are  interested, 
and  may  be  left  out  of  consideration.  New  forces  were  grow- 
ing, however,  in  New  England  itself.  One  is  too  important 
to  be  overlooked. 

Proposed  Reform  in  Amherst  College.     1827. 

The  faculty  of  Amherst  in  1827  say  to  their  Board  of 
Trustees  that  "  the  American  public  is  not  satisfied  with 
the  present  course  of  education  in  our  higher  seminaries." 
They  express  the  belief  "  that  any  college  may  retain  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages  .  .  .  may  insist  more  stren- 
uously than  before  on  the  study  of  the  abstruse  sciences, 
.  .  .  providing  it  will  at  the  same  time  open  its  doors  to 
that  large  class  of  young  men  who  are  not  destined  to 
either  of  the  learned  professions,  and  carry  them  through  a 
course,  which  they  think  better  adapted  to  their  future 
plans  and  prospects."  Six  months  later  they  present  a 
second  report  in  which  they  say  :   M  Our  decided  and  unani- 


mous  judgment  is,  that  if  a  new  course  is  introduced,  it 
ought  to  proceed  on  a  most  liberal  scale.  By  whatever 
name  it  may  be  called,  it  should  be  fully  equivalent  to  the 
course  which  we  now  pursue.  It  should  fill  up  as  many 
years,  should  be  carried  on  by  as  able  instructors,  should 
take  as  wide  and  elevated  a  range,  should  require  as  great 
an  amount  of  hard  study  or  mental  discipline,  and  should 
be  rewarded  by  the  same  academic  honors.'''  Clearly  they 
believe  that  studies  may  differ  in  kind  and  still  give  results 
of  equal  educational  value.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
the  German  language  is  spoken  of  as  a  possible  factor  in 
this  new  method,  although  it  is  to  be  subordinated  to  the 
Romance  tongues.  The  plan  was  not  followed  up,  and  the 
course  of  study  at  Amherst  remained  under  the  domination 
of  the  Yale  idea,  just  described,  which  was  announced  in 
the  following  year. 

Just  whence  came  this  impetus  to  the  faculty  of  Amherst 
is  not  certain.  At  Harvard  College  new  ideas  were  coming 
in  those  days,  and  coming  from  Germany.  George  Ticknor, 
after  four  years  spent  at  the  University  of  Goettingen,  be- 
came professor  of  modern  languages  at  Harvard  in  1825. 
At  that  time  the  principle  of  elective  studies  was  first 
adopted  there.  It  is  the  beginning  in  the  New  England 
type  of  college,  of  the  principle  urged  hy  the  faculty  of 
Amherst  in  1827.  This  beginning  was  in  a  small  way,  but 
the  underlying  idea  was  the  direct  precursor  of  the  fuller 
program  of  studies  adopted  at  Harvard  in  1867,  which  in 
turn  gave  way  by  successive  steps  to  the  "  university  "  (as 
against  "college")  free  and  open  elective  system  of  the 
present. 

In  1850,  President  Wayland  of  Brown  University,  review- 
ing the  progress  of  this  movement,  says  :  "In  this  century 
science  after  science  was  added  to  the  curriculum  as  fast  as 
the  pressure  from  without  seemed  to  require  it.  To  do  this 
the  time  allotted  to  the  previously  existing  subjects  was 
curtailed.  The  number  of  subjects  was  increased  in  large 
measure,  but  each  one  was  taught  less  perfectly  than 
before." 


IO 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  more  recent  developments  in 
college  curricula.  Hamilton  adopted  in  1882  the  plan  of 
elective  studies  in  part,  and  the  changes  in  the  number  and 
character  of  them  since  then  have  been  more  the  result  of 
incidental  causes  than  of  fundamental  educational  policies. 

Progress  of  "  Classical  Education." 

No  word  has  been  more  used  at  Hamilton  and  elsewhere 
to  describe  the  older  type  of  collegiate  education  than 
"  classical."  It  has  generally  been  held  to  mean  a  training 
in  which  Latin  and  Greek,  and  the  latter  in  particular, 
were  characteristic  and  important  elements.  A  glance  at 
the  Hamilton  catalogues  prior  to  1883  show  clearly  what  was 
meant,  viz.  four  years  preparation  in  Latin,  three  (two)  in 
Greek  ;  and  the  continuance  of  the  two  languages  during 
two-thirds  of  the  college  course.  Looking  to  the  history 
of  the  American  college  we  see  plainly  enough  that  the 
original  reason  for  requiring  a  knowledge  of  the  two  tongues 
was  to  enable  students  to  read  the  books  to  be  expounded 
in  college.  The  knowledge  was  a  definite  means  to  a  defi- 
nite end.  "No  one  shall  be  admitted  to  the  college  until 
he  can  resolve  Tully  and  the  Greek  Testament."  The  ex- 
amination was  what  we  should  now  call  a  "  sight  test  "  in 
reading  and  translating.  But  as  early  as  1784,  at  least,  cer- 
tain portions  were  selected  from  the  authors,  practically  as 
in  the  examinations  of  recent  years.  There  are  statements 
in  college  regulations  during  the  eighteenth  century  which 
indicate  clearly  enough  that  the  entrants  could  not  read 
Latin  as  they  were  supposed  to  do,  and  one  writer  about 
the  year  1800  says  that  the  most  of  the  college  students 
cared  only  "to  learn  just  enough  of  it  to  get  their  di- 
plomas." The  remarks  of  writers  and  scholars  about  the 
decline  of  classical  learning  and  study  sound  very  familiar. 
Apparently  it  has  always  been  "declining." 

The  great  defect  in  our  theory  of  "  classical  "  training  as 
actually  applied  is  this.     We  give  to  its  study  both  in  the 


II 


preparatory  school  and  in  college  far  less  time  than  is  de- 
voted in  European  countries  to  covering  the  same  amount 
of  ground,  and  we  furnish  greatly  inferior  teachers  in  the 
majority  of  our  schools.  In  Latin,  for  instance,  we  imag- 
ine that  our  boys  and  girls  can  and  will  accomplish  in  one 
year  of  38  school  weeks  at  the  most,  with  five  recitations 
per  week,  such  preparation  as  will  enable  them  to  take  up 
the  reading  of  Caesar  with  profit.  The  German  boy  spends 
on  this  work  two  school  years  of  more  than  forty  weeks 
each,  and  with  as  many  as  twelve  exercises  per  week  for  a 
part  of  that  time.  So  in  college  we  have  cut  down  the 
time  required  for  thorough  mastery  of  the  language  (we 
have  given  up  the  fiction  that  our  students  can  read  the 
language  at  entrance),  in  order  to  make  way  for  other  sub- 
jects. So  far  as  we  are  dealing  with  universally  required 
subjects  like  History  or  Economics  this  is  probably  neces- 
sary and  right.  We  should  at  the  same  time,  however, 
realize  that  we  are  holding  fast  to  the  name  of  a  system  of 
education  after  we  have  given  up  the  essential  features 
which  made  it  valuable.  At  Hamilton  two  or  three  years 
of  Greek  were  required,  until  recently,  for  admission,  and 
seven  terms  study  of  the  language  in  college,  about  five 
years  in  all.  Now  the  A.B.  degree  may  be  secured  by  the 
study  of  Greek  for  two  years.  If  A.B.  is  to  be  the  exclu- 
sive mark  of  a  "  classical  "  education,  then  Latin,  and  still 
more  Greek,  should  be  enforced  on  every  student  through- 
out the  four  years  of  the  course.  We  may  reasonably 
doubt  the  special  value  of  a  degree  which  is  to  be  obtained 
by  studying,  in  the  words  of  Samuel  Miller,  in  1802,  "just 
enough  of  the  ancient  tongues  to  secure  a  diploma." 

Academy,  High  School,  College,  Professional 

School. 

A  brief  historical  summary  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the 
academy  is  useful  in  understanding  its  relations  to  the  col- 
lege in   general.     We  may  confine  our  attention  to  New 


12 

York  State,  as  it  very  early  made  a  comprehensive  organi- 
zation of  public  education. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1787,  incorporating  the 
"Regents  of  The  University  of  The  State  of  New  York  ", 
defines  the  way  in  which  trustees  of  "academies  for  the 
instruction  of  youth  in  the  languages  and  other  branches 
of  useful  learning  "  may  be  incorporated  and  hold  property. 
The  act  further  provides  that  ' '  whenever  it  shall  appear  to 
the  Regents  that  the  state  of  literature  in  any  academy  is 
so  far  advanced,  and  the  funds  will  admit  thereof,  they 
may  authorize  the  trustees  of  such  academy  to  elect  a  presi- 
dent with  all  the  powers  that  a  president  of  a  college  en- 
joys, and  that  such  academy  shall  be  thereafter  known  as  a 
college,  and  shall  to  all  effects  be  a  college."  The  Regents 
further  declared  that  no  academy  ought  to  be  erected  into 
a  college  until  the  state  of  literature  therein  is  so  advanced, 
and  its  funds  so  far  enlarged,  as  to  render  it  probable  that 
it  will  attain  the  ends  and  support  the  character  of  a  col- 
lege in  which  all  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences  are  to  be 
cherished  and  taught." 

The  main  difference,  then,  between  the  two  institutions 
was  the  ability  through  increased  funds  to  increase  the 
amount  and  to  improve  the  grade  of  instruction.  In  their 
report  in  1793,  the  regents  note  the  establishment  in  the 
previous  year  of  two  academies,  "at  Schenectady  and  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Oneida  nation."  Of  the  latter 
(Hamilton-Oneida  Academy),  they  say  that  a  part  of  the 
plan  of  this  is  to  "extend  the  blessing  of  Science  to  the 
untutored  savages  so  as  gradually  to  qualify  them  for  all 
the  duties  of  enlightened  citizens."  The  following  year 
the  regents  urge  the  adoption  of  a  plan  for  common  schools 
"for  those  settlements  where  there  are  no  academies." 
This  is  the  beginning  of  free  public  education  in  New  York 
State,  but  the  plan  was  not  lasting. 

In  1793  Hamilton-Oneida  Academy  was  chartered  under 
these  resolutions.  The  founders  recite  its  need  to  "pre- 
vent the  youth  of  that  part  of  the  country  growing  up  in  a 


13 

state  of  gloomy  ignorance."'  Samuel  Kirkland  says  that 
the  institution  is  "  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  the  young  and 
flourishing  settlements,  and  the  various  tribes  of  confeder- 
ated Indians."  He  adds  his  wish  that  it  may  prove  an  emi- 
nent means  of  diffusing  useful  knowledge."  In  1800  we 
learn  that  "  about  fifty  students  are  being  taught  the  Greek, 
Latin,  and  English  languages  under  two  able  instructors." 
A  college  charter  was  asked  for  in  1805,  but  not  obtained 
until  1812. 

The  first  three  professorships  in  the  college  show  us  the 
broad  nature  of  the  education  planned  :  Chemistry  and 
Mineralogy  ;  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  ;  Greek 
and  Latin  Languages.  These  were  filled  at  the  start  or 
within  a  few  years.  The  following  were  proposed  but  were 
not  filled,  save  in  one  case,  and  that  appointee  did  not  act- 
ually begin  work  :  one  professorship  each  in  Institutions 
of  Medicine,  Surgery  and  Anatomy,  Obstetrics.  The  de- 
sirability of  appointing  a  professor  of  Divinity  was  acknowl- 
edged at  various  times,  and  apparently  without  any  opposi- 
tion. The  lack  of  funds  prevented.  The  general  agree- 
ment as  to  the  need  for  such  a  professor  was  evident  in 
1827,  and  apparently  only  the  lack  of  funds  prevented  the 
establishment  also  of  a  professorship  of  Book-keeping,  and 
of  Civil  Engineering. 

As  these  facts  show,  the  idea  that  one  kind  of  learning  is 
1 '  liberal ' ' ,  while  another  sort  is  ' '  professional  "  or  "  voca- 
tional "  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  early  history  of  Hamilton. 
Separate  schools  of  Theology,  Law,  Medicine,  or  Tech- 
nology did  not  then  exist.  Higher  education  included  all 
preparation  for  life  work.  Men  went  directly  from  college 
to  the  practice  of  their  several  callings.  Look  over  the 
stated  equipment  of  the  early  academies  and  colleges,  and 
note  the  frequency  of  the  "surveyor's  compass."  This 
idea  of  instruction  in  subjects  directly  useful  to  the  com- 
munity underlies,  fifty  years  later,  the  founding  of  the  pro- 
fessorship in  Agricultural  Chemistry.  This,  by  the  way, 
received  the  largest  endowment  in  the  history  of  the  college. 


14 

Had  the  plan  been  treated  more  seriously  by  the  trustees 
then  or  later,  or  had  the  first  incumbent  of  the  chair,  Ed- 
ward Walstein  Root,  lived,  the  story  of  a  lost  opportunity 
might  never  have  been  told.  Law  was  taught  to  under- 
graduates from  1837  until  1855,  when  a  separate  school  was 
established.  The  Science  and  Art  of  Education  are  taught 
now.  "  Useful  knowledge  "  has  never  been  denied  admis- 
sion to  the  course. 

But  the  development  of  knowledge,  and  specially  of  scien- 
tific knowledge,  has  forced  a  longer  time  of  study  in  prepa- 
ration for  all  vocations.  One  by  one  they  have  come  to 
demand  training  of  a  very  special  character.  So  profes- 
sional schools  have  grown  to  meet  this  demand.  The  time 
needed  to  complete  a  course  of  study  in  Law,  for  example, 
is  now  three  years  at  the  least,  and  in  some  schools  four 
years.  Medicine  makes  even  greater  demands.  Other  vo- 
cations than  the  oldest  three  have  been  systematized  ;  farm- 
ing is  the  latest,  and  now  mercantile  pursuits  are  following 
fast. 

The  graduate  of  a  "  college"  now  faces  the  necessity  for 
another  four  years  of  study  before  he  is  ready  to  earn  his 
living.  The  college  cannot  give  him  all  his  training  for 
life  as  it  once  did.  It  may  ' '  educate  him  to  use  his  leisure  ' ' 
and  does  well  so  to  train  him.  If  he  is  able  financially,  he 
may  stay  through  four  years  of  general  study,  and  then 
begin  study  directed  to  his  life  work.  Not  all  young  men 
can  do  this ;  not  all  who  can  do  it,  will.  Thus  one  great 
problem  of  the  college  course  for  each  individual  is  fixed  in 
a  measure  by  his  future  work.  In  other  words,  the  function 
of  the  college  is  partly  determined  by  that  of  the  professional 
school. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  college  course  we  find  now  the 
private  school,  or  the  public  school.  So  soon  as  the  college 
in  its  development  calls  for  a  certain  amount  of  formal 
preparation  as  a  condition  of  admission,  we  have  the  ques- 
tion, so  puzzling  to-day  to  many  people,  of  the  relation  of 
the  college  to  the  high  school.  Looked  at  historically  it  is 
simple. 


15 

The  first  academies  were  largely  the  result  of  private,  or 
community,  benefaction.  They  were  not  free  public  schools. 
That  idea  as  applied  to  anything  beyond  elementary  educa- 
tion is  of  quite  recent  growth.  The  trustees  of  Hamilton- 
Oneida  Academy  say  in  1792  "  that  no  one  is  admitted  to 
their  school  who  cannot  read  and  write."  The  Academy 
was  both  primary  and  secondary  school,  as  we  now  classify 
them.  The  Academy  as  a  secondary  institution  grew  as 
the  college  unloaded  upon  it  subject  after  subject.  When 
the  "  college  "  was  practically  the  professional  school,  (or, 
at  least  the  only  thing  of  the  kind  existing),  the  academy 
represented  the  place  and  function  of  the  college  to-day. 
Gradually  there  has  been  a  pushing  back  of  one  subject 
after  another.  Arithmetic,  for  example,  was  taught  in 
college  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Then  it  was  relegated  to  the  academy,  whence  it  has  now 
gone  to  the  elementary  school.  Geography  (in  the  older 
sense  of  the  term),  has  been  treated  in  the  same  way. 

The  establishment  of  a  free  elementary  school  system 
took  part  of  the  work  of  the  academy,  which  then  remained, 
as  an  independent  institution,  in  some  places  rivalling  the 
local  college  ;  in  others  preparing  students  for  college,  or 
fitting  them  for  business  life  or  for  professional  study,  or 
both.  The  older  type  of  academy  gave  way  to  the  "  Free 
Academy,"  and  by  degrees  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century  the  Free  Public  High  School  as  we  know  it 
to-day  became  firmly  established.  An  interesting  state- 
ment was  made  in  1823,  in  connection  with  a  movement  for 
high  schools  in  New  York  City  :  "  Public  opinion  and  the 
wants  of  a  large  class  of  citizens  of  this  town  have  long 
been  calling  for  a  school  in  which  those,  who  have  either 
not  the  desire  or  the  means  of  obtaining  a  classical  educa- 
tion, might  receive  instruction  in  many  branches  of  great 
practical  importance  which  have  usually  been  taught  only 
at  the  colleges."  The  college,  it  seems,  at  that  time  gave 
more  "practical"  instruction  than  the  academies. 

This  development  seems  to  remove  any  ground  for  the 
absurd  fear  of  any  subject  in  the  college  course  which  may 


i6 

be  called  "useful,"  "practical,"  or  "vocational."  For 
opposition  to  such  studies  there  is  no  basis  in  the  history  of 
our  college.  "  All  knowledge  is  for  use"  is  a  maxim  al- 
most expressly  stated  by  our  founders,  and  surely  taken 
for  granted  when  they  were  arranging  for  a  professorship 
of  Divinity,  of  Anatomy,  or  of  Engineering. 

There  is,  however,  another  reason  for  looking  closely  to 
the  growth  of  the  public  high  school.  From  this  the  col- 
lege must  get  the  majority  of  its  students.  So  long  as 
academies,  privately  owned  and  privately  managed,  furn- 
ished the  entrants  to  college,  so  long  might  the  authorities 
of  the  college  arrange  the  course  of  instruction  in  the 
academies  to  meet  primarily  the  college  terms  of  admission. 
But  just  as  soon  as  the  schools  became  free  schools,  sup- 
ported by  taxation,  this  possibility  was  gone.  Hamilton 
college  has  lost  sight  of  this,  and  is  paying  the  penalty  for 
her  neglect. 

The  high  school  course  of  study  must  be  organized  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  State  and  of  the  community  which 
support  it.  It  must  be  adapted  to  the  90%  of  its  students 
who  do  not  go  to  college.  The  educational  authorities  of 
the  state,  or  of  the  community,  or  both  working  together, 
must  make  their  courses  of  study  in  the  light  of  our  best 
educational  theory.  This  is  based  upon  foundations  as 
certain  as  those  of  any  experimental  science.  College  men 
have  had  a  large  share  in  framing  our  school  schedules. 
The  high  school  courses  of  study  represent  the  thought  of 
our  best  students  of  Psychology,  of  Economics,  and  of 
other  sciences.  The  foremost  colleges  recognize  this.  The 
great  state  systems  of  the  middle  and  far  West  have  articu- 
lated their  education  in  an  efficient  fashion.  They  may 
not  be  perfect,  may  not  show  now  the  form  of  their  ulti- 
mate development,  but  the  men  who  have  formulated  them 
have  turned  to  the  light. 

The  lessons  for  us  at  Hamilton  are  plain.  They  are  not 
in  character  different  from  those  of  the  same  type  of  college 
everywhere.     If  we  are  to  prosper,  we  must  find  just  what 


17 

is  our  sphere  of  action  now,  when  many  of  our  old  functions 
have  been  taken  over  by  the  professional  school  on  the  one 
hand,  and  by  the  high  school  on  the  other.  We  must 
listen  to  the  words  of  experts  in  the  special  fields  of  educa- 
tion. When  the  leaders  in  secondary  education  say  that 
during  the  adolescent  period  of  life  it  is  important  to  open 
several  aspects  of  study  to  the  boy,  the  college  ought  not 
to  say  to  those  coming  to  it  :  "  Waste  no  time  upon  topics 
outside  our  requirements." 

A  practical  summary  of  the  situation  is  this  :  The 
college  is  not  necessary  to  the  high  school  ;  but  the  high 
school  is  very  necessary  to  the  college. 

Development  of  Entrance  Requirements. 

From  the  first  records  of  Harvard  College  down  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and 
Latin  is  the  only  requirement  for  admission.  It  is  worth 
while  to  notice  that  the  power  to  read  and  to  write  these 
languages  (and  Latin  in  particular),  is  aimed  at.  In  1745 
Arithmetic  was  added  to  these  two  at  Yale  College,  and 
presently  elsewhere.  This  was  the  first  step  in  the  progress 
by  which  all  else  in  the  secondary  school  curriculum  has 
been  put  there  by  gradual  crowding  out  of  the  college. 

By  the  year  1800  the  requirement  in  language  has  become 
a  quantitative  one  quite  generally.  A  fixed  amount  of 
Latin  must  be  read.  To  be  sure  a  test  in  composition  is 
nominally  called  for,  but  it  has  never  been  more  than  a 
farce  in  the  great  majority  of  institutions.  It  is  only  in  the 
last  few  years  that  we  have  returned  to  the  earlier  idea  of 
power  to  use  a  language  as  the  only  proper  test  of  acquaint- 
ance with  it.  At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  present 
conditions  in  amount  of  subjects  required  had  substantially 
been  reached.  But  as  the  college  continued  to  push  back 
upon  the  preparatory  school  more  and  more  work,  and  as  a 
steadily  increasing  number  of  subjects  appeared  in  the 
school  curriculum  ;  election  in  the  latter  became  as  neces- 
sary as  in  the  college  itself.     In  theory  all  elementary  work 


18 

in  any  branch  was  to  be  done  before  the  student  entered 
college.  Curiously  enough  modern  languages  were  not 
(and  to  a  large  extent  even  now  are  not)  thus  treated.  A 
college  teaches  elementary  French  or  German  without 
apology  or  excuse  for  including  them  in  its  course  of  study. 
It  declines  to  teach  even  a  fourth  year  of  Latin,  as  it  is 
"properly  only  high  school  work."  "  The  A.B.  degree," 
the  college  says,  "  is  the  hall-mark  of  a  gentleman,  and 
Latin  (either  with  or  without  Greek  in  various  cases),  is 
the  essential  subject  for  that  degree.  But  if  you  have  not 
been  fortunate  enough  to  get  about  four-fifths  of  the  necessary 
amount  of  that  language  before  you  come  to  us,  we  won't 
give  you  what  you  lack,  nor  the  degree  depending  upon  it." 

The  Geographical  Constituency  of    Hamilton. 

The  petition  of  the  founders  of  the  Hamilton-Oneida 
Academy  for  a  charter,  and  the  letter  of  Samuel  Kirkland 
at  the  same  time,  show  that  one  of  the  motives  for  their 
action  was  to  give  education  to  the  youth  of  the  "  surround- 
ing country."  The  money  raised  in  the  vicinity  and  given 
by  friends  elsewhere  was  for  service  to  the  community,  to 
the  "  western  district  "  no  less  than  to  the  state. 

The  following  figures  help  us  to  judge  how  far  the  col- 
lege is  meeting  the  needs  of  this  population. 

Year    Total  Number  New  York  State  From  within  25  miles 

Fac.    Studs.  No.       Per  cent  No.      Per  cent 

1868  9         183  159  82  56  30 

1893         18         138  114  82  32  23 

191 1         20         188  138  73  42  22 

Population  of  New  York  State  and  Number  of  Students. 

Year  Pop.  of  State  Studs,  from  State            Ratio 

1868        3,800,000  159  About  1  in  24,000 

1893        6,500,000  114  "     1  in  57,000 

191 1         9,000,000  138  "     1  in  65,000 

Population  of  Oneida  and  Herkimer  Counties  and  Ratio. 


Year 

Population 

Students  from                Ratio 
within  25  miles 

1868 

1893 
1911 

141,867 
171,247 
210,513 

56               About  1  in  2,500 
32                    "      1  in  5,300 
42                    "      1  in  5,000 

SECTION  II. 
The  Present  Situation  and  our  Problem. 

The  commission  was  asked  to  ' '  consider  the  whole 
question  of  entrance  requirements  and  curriculum."  The 
address  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  at  our 
first  meeting  indicated  further  that  we  are  to  recommend 
such  modifications  in  the  present  educational  policy  of  the 
college  as  shall  secure  for  its  students  a  "  liberal  education." 
There  is  "no  intention  of  making  the  college  a  professional 
or  technical  school."  It  does  not  profess  to  prepare 
students  for  any  specific  vocation.  What,  then,  is  the 
college  to  do  ? 

It  ought  to  give  to  all  its  students  such  instruction  as 
will  increase  their  powers  of  observation,  judgment,  and 
expression  ;  will  widen  their  sympathies  ;  will  ensure  for 
them  a  richer  and  fuller  individual  life  ;  and  will  make 
them  useful  members  of  society.  Along  with  this  training 
it  ought  to  give  to  each  student  the  best  possible  basis  for 
such  personal  study  as  his  plans  for  life  work  may  demand. 

To  do  this  effectively  present  conditions  must  be  changed, 
for: 

i.  The  relations  of  "  college  "  to  higher  and  to  secondary 
education  have  been  modified  by  the  development  of  our 
social  organization.  No  power  can  now  restore  the  con- 
ditions of  fifty,  or  even  twenty  years  ago. 

2.  Boys  now  seek  college  training  for  a  greater  number 
of  purposes  than  ever  before. 

3.  Loyal  alumni  ask  for  a  wider  door,  not  for  a  lower 
step,  of  admission  for  their  sons. 

At  Hamilton,  as  at  nearly  all  colleges  now,  the  students 
are  permitted  in  the  third  and  fourth  years  of  the  course  to 
elect  their  work.  We  may,  therefore,  confine  our  studies 
in  the  main  to  the  entrance  requirements  and  to  the  sub- 
jects of  the  first  two  years  of  the  college  course.  It  is  in- 
structive to  compare  the  conditions  of  a  generation  ago 
with  the  present  arrangement. 


20 

Entrance  Requirements  30  Years  Ago. 

In  1880  the  entrance  requirements  stated  in  the  catalog 
call  for  four  years  of  Latin,  two  (or  two  and  one-half)  years 
of  Greek,  and  two  years  of  Mathematics.  Further  require- 
ments are  indicated  in  such  a  vague  way  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  give  them  fixed  values  on  our  present  scale  of  credits. 
Furthermore  every  one  at  all  familiar  with  the  administra- 
tion at  that  time  knows  that  it  was  extremely  lax,  and  that 
in  practice  the  three  subjects  mentioned  were  practically 
the  only  ones  thought  of  any  importance. 

Entrance  Requirements  in  191 1. 

Latin,  four  years  ;  Greek,  three  years  ;  Mathematics,  two 
and  a  half  years  ;  English,  three  years.  Further  statements 
in  the  catalog  are  vague  and  puzzling.  "  Outlines  of  U.  S. 
History  "  is  called  for.  As  defined  this  would  be  a  gram- 
mar school  subject.  If  we  suppose  that  high  school  Ameri- 
can History  is  meant,  then  we  shall  have,  in  the  standard 
measurements  of  preparatory  work,  the  following  scheme  : 

I,atin 4  units  Mathematics 2^  units 

Greek 3  units  History 1  unit 

English 3  units 

This  makes  a  total  of  13^  units.  To  make  sure  that 
there  shall  be  no  misunderstanding  of  the  emphasis  placed 
by  the  college  on  the  relative  importance  of  studies  in  the 
high  school,  we  are  told  that  soon  "  examinations  here  will 
be  held  in  the  grammars  of  all  foreign  languages."  That 
is,  no  certificates,  or  other  evidence  of  fitness  to  enter  will 
be  accepted  in  this  field. 

Curriculum  of  Freshman  and  Sophomore 
Years  in  1880. 

The  catalog  of  1 880-1 881  shows  the  following  course  of 
study  for  the  first  two  years  : 
Term 

1.  Greek,  Latin,  Mathematics. 

2.  Greek,  Iyatin,  Mathematics. 


21 

3-   Greek,  Latin,  Mathematics. 

4.  Greek,  Latin,  Mathematics. 

5.  French,  English,  Mathematics. 

6.  French,  Greek,  Latin,  Mathematics. 

Present  Curriculum  for  the  First  Two  Years. 

(There  are  now  two  terms  a  year,  not  three  as  formerly.) 

Term 

1.  Greek,  Latin,  German,  English,  Mathematics. 

2.  Greek,  Latin,  German,  English,  Mathematics. 

3.  Greek,  Latin,  German,  English,  French,  Mathematics. 

4.  Greek,  Latin,  German,  English,  French,  Mathematics. 
(In  this  term  3  hours  of  Hygiene  and  Botany  may  be 

elected  in   place   of   any   one   subject  except  French  and 
English.) 

Comparison  of  Present  Schemes  and  Those  of  1880. 

Entrance  Units 
1880  1912 

Total 10  13  >£ 

Language  6  10 

Mathematics.  2  2^ 

Or,  to  put  facts  into  percentages  : 

Of  total  entrance  requirement,  language  was  in  1 880,  60  °/o . 

Of  total  entrance  requirement,  language  in  1912,  74%. 

Of  work  of  two  college  years,  language  was  in  1880,  65  °fo  ■ 

In  191 2  a  limited  amount  of  election  in  studies  is  allowed 
in  the  second  half  of  the  second  year.  If  the  minimum 
amount  of  language  possible  under  the  rule  be  taken, 
language  will  be  74%  of  all  work.  If  the  maximum 
amount  of  language  be  taken,  language  will  be  84.^0  of  all. 
One  sees  that  the  changes  of  thirty  years  are  the  result  of 
attempts  to  reduce  the  amount  of  mathematics  required. 
But  the  changes  have  been  in  one  direction  only,  increasing 
the  work  in  language  study.  The  curriculum  of  1880  may 
have  been  determined,  in  part  at  least,  by  the  exigencies  of 


hours  in  College 

(Two  years. 

) 

1880 

1912 

68 

68 

44 

50  (57) 

24 

11  (17) 

22 

planning  work  with  a  small  faculty.  That  reason  does  not 
exist  to-day.  Viewed  as  a  plan  of  education  the  curriculum 
of  1912  is  less  efficient  than  that  of   1880. 

The  Idea  of  Education  has  Changed. 

When  theology,  law,  and,  though  in  a  smaller  degree, 
medicine,  were  practically  the  only  "learned  professions," 
and  when  the  kind  of  training  offered  those  who  intended  to 
follow  them  consisted  almost  exclusively  in  the  reading  of 
a  few  stipulated  books,  it  was  evidently  possible  to  fix  a 
course  of  study  fairly  satisfactory  to  all,  and  fairly  profit- 
able for  all.  There  was  at  the  same  time  an  avowed  pur- 
pose to  "  soften  the  manners,  give  vigor  to  the  body,  enrich 
the  mind,  and  produce  moral  excellence." 

But  the  last  half  century  has  changed  all  this  completely. 
We  may  not,  and  we  must  not,  forget  the  principles  just 
quoted,  but  it  has  for  some  time  been  impossible  to  limit  the 
field  of  instruction  in  which  and  by  which  they  could  be 
made  effective.  The  bounds  of  human  knowledge  have 
been  extended  more  rapidly  than  ever  before.  The  process 
is  still  going  on,  and  nowhere  with  greater  rapidity  than  in 
the  United  States.  The  result  is  first  an  immense  exten- 
sion of  the  idea  of  a  "  profession  "  and  the  absolute  neces- 
sity for  special  preparation  in  every  line  of  occupation.  No- 
body thinks  today  of  learning  medicine  by  sitting  in  the 
office  of  a  doctor.  But  the  conditions  are  too  well  known 
to  need  further  statement. 

The  need  of  the  individual  for  some  special  preparation 
preliminary  to  his  technical  study  (the  study  of  chemistry, 
for  example,  before  pathology)  ;  the  need  of  the  state  for  a 
body  of  men  who  shall  be  ready  and  willing  to  attack  the 
complex  problems  of  social  well-being  ;  the  need  of  mankind 
for  men  of  wide  vision,  genuine  sympathy  and  a  true  ideal- 
ism ; — these  are  the  objects  we  must  keep  in  mind  in  mak- 
ing such  selection  from  the  whole  field  of  knowledge  as  a 
limited  time  allows. 


23 

The  Individual  Basis  of  a  Course  of  Study. 

The  work  of  the  earlier  years  (to  say  the  least)  of  the 
college  should,  as  we  all  agree,  give  a  training  in  general 
habits  of  thinking  and  of  solving  problems  similar  to  those 
of  later  life.  Huxley  says  :  "  the  best  way  to  learn  how  to 
do  a  given  thing  is  by  doing  something  as  near  like  it  as 
possible,  but  under  easier  and  simpler  conditions."  An- 
other name  for  this  general  training  is  formal  discipline, 
which  has  been  defined  :  "  The  practice  of  the  mind  in  cer- 
tain forms  or 'methods  of  thought  which  are  '  common  ele- 
ments'  in  wide  ranges  of  experience." 

Our  studies  should  be  so  chosen  that  from  them  the  stu- 
dent may  get  general  concepts  of  method.  Method  is  not  the 
same  in  all  fields.  There  have  been  various  analyses  and 
classifications.     The  following  will  answer  our  purpose  : 

i.  The  method  of  pure  mathematics,  e.g.  Geometry. 
Exact  and  universally  valid  ;  data  fixed  and  un- 
varied. 

2.  The   method   of   the   mathematico-physical   sciences. 

Physics.     Similar  to  i  in  so  far  as  data  and  causes 
are  known. 

3.  The  method  of  the  biological  sciences,  e.  g.,  Zoology, 

Botany.     This  includes  life  variations.     Forms  and 
data  not  exact. 

4.  The  method  of  the  psychological  sciences,  e.  g.,  Psy- 

chology.    This  includes  psychic  in  addition  to  life 
variations. 

5.  The  method  of  the  sociological  sciences,  e.g.,  History, 

Language.       This  adds  a  third   kind  of  variation, 

the  social. 
In  each  of  these  fields  the  method  of  reasoning  is  different, 
and  every  student  should  have  at  least  a  grounding  in  each 
of  them.  With  a  basis  of  knowledge  in  each  of  these 
groups  the  student  will  be  ready  to  follow  out  one  of  them 
as  his  major  line  of  work  for  the  remaining  years  of  his 
course. 


24 

The  Social  Basis  of  a  Course  of  Study. 

The  first  aim  of  any  social  organization  must  be  self  pro- 
tection. It  must  live  as  an  organization  if  it  is  to  protect 
its  individual  members.  This  means  that  its  members  must 
be  informed  of  the  ways  in  which  its  efficiency  is  promoted, 
and  of  the  dangers  to  which  it  is  exposed.  We  find  this 
idea  fully  realized,  and  this  purpose  attempted  in  our  school 
and  college  curricula  by  the  study  of  social  organization 
and  management,  under  a  variety  of  names : — civics, 
political  science,  sociology,  economics.  (At  Hamilton 
specifically  under  the  title  :   "  Civil  Polity.") 

Within  a  generation,  however,  new  factors  have  become 
known.  Chemistry  and  Biology  are  now  all  important. 
Modern  towns  could  not  exist  without  the  aid  derived  from 
a  knowledge  of  their  laws.  ' '  Civic  Biology ' '  is  the  founda- 
tion stone  of  community  life.  Public  hygiene  is  a  study 
absolutely  imperative  in  a  general  course.  Local  boards  of 
health  make  life  safe  in  our  towns,  and  state  boards  in  our 
rural  districts.  "The  first  condition  for  a  more  highly 
educated  medical  profession  is  a  higher  intelligence  among 
the  laity",  said  one  of  our  greatest  pathologists.  A  college 
trained  man  who  is  not  ready  to  support  the  precautions 
and  the  remedial  measures  which  science  demands .  con- 
stantly, as  well  as  in  emergencies,  is  a  disgrace  to  his 
college. 

The  machinery  of  government,  with  which  our  "  political 
and  social  science  "  has  mostly  been  concerned  is  an  in- 
cident, not  the  essential  of  the  science.  By  the  study  of 
industrial  history,  in  particular,  the  proper  introduction  to 
an  intelligent  study  of  economics  is  laid.  In  this  way  a 
citizen  is  made  more  intelligent  for  his  part  in  the  manage- 
ment and  development  of  society. 

Ours  is  an  industrial  civilization.  The  problems  of  the 
future  are  sure  to  be  more  and  more  in  this  field.  The 
college  must  do  its  share  in  preparing  men  to  perform  their 
useful  part  in  solving  them.     But  with   all  this  a  nation's 


25 

ideals  are  not  to  be  forgotten.  Literature  and  art  must  re- 
ceive their  proper  share  of  attention.  Language  and 
philosophy  help  in  their  understanding  and  interpretation  ; 
and,  for  a  few,  lead  to  the  creation  of  new  forms,  or  to  new 
embodiment  and  expression  of  old  ones. 

With  these  considerations  in  mind,  and  after  careful 
study  of  the  various  aspects  of  the  problem,  the  commission 
submits  the  following  recommendations  in  three  groups  : 

A.  Entrance  Requirements.     B.  The  Curriculum. 
C.  General  Educational  Policy. 


SECTION  III. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

A.  Requirements  for  Admission  to  the  College. 

i.  Entrance  Subjects.  The  subjects  which  may  be 
offered  for  admission  to  the  College,  and  the  amount  of 
each  of  them  are  these  : 

i.  English 3  units        8.  Mathematics 2^  to  4  units 

2.  Greek 2  or  3  "  9.  Physics 

3.  Latin_2  or  3  or  4  "  10.  Chemistry 

4.  German__2  or  3  "  11.  Physical  Geography 

5.  French 2  or  3  "  12.  Botany 

6.  Spanish. _ 2  or  3  "  13.  Zoology 

7.  History__i  or  2  "  14.  Drawing 


i  or  1 


The  term  "unit"  means  five  prepared  recitations  per 
week  for  one  year  of  study.  Two  periods  of  laboratory 
work  are  considered  the  minimum  amount  equivalent  to  one 
prepared  recitation.  In  determining  the  character  of  the 
work  in  each  subject  the  definitions  of  the  College  Entrance 
Examination  Board  shall  be  accepted. 


26 

2.   Entrance  Requirements. 

The   minimum   entrance    requirements   for   all   students 
shall  be  14  units. 

Required  Subjects. 

For  A.B.  Course.  For  B.S.  Course. 

Subject                                Units  Subject                                Units 

English 3  English 3 

Mathematics 2%  Mathematics iy2 

Element.  Algebra. __  1  Element.  Algebra. __   1 


Interm.    Algebra %  Interm.    Algebra. 


Plane   Geometry 1  Plane   Geometry 1 

History ___.    1  History 1 

Latin 4  A  Foreign  Language 3 

A  Second  Foreign  Language  2  A  Second  Foreign  Lang 2 

One  Science 1 


Elective  Subjects. 

For  Either  Course.  A  minimum  of  iy2  units  to  be 
chosen. 

Units  Units 

A    third    Year    of    the    Second  Drawing %  or  1 

Foreign  Language 1  Advanced  Algebra % 

A  Second  Year  of  History 1  Trigonometry ^ 

A  Second  Year  of  Science 1  Solid  Geometry yz 

The  credentials  of  the  College  Entrance  Examination 
Board,  and  of  the  New  York  State  Education  Department, 
and  the  certificates  of  the  principals  of  approved  schools 
shall  be  accepted  in  all  subjects  as  a  complete  satisfaction  of 
all  entrance  requirements.  The  additional  examinations  in 
English  Composition,  in  "substituted  foreign  languages," 
and  in  the  grammars  of  the  Ancient  and  Modern  languages  at 
present  prescribed,  (College  catalog,  191 1,  page  16)  shall  be 
discontinued  as  unwise  and  inexpedient. 

B.  The  College  Curriculum. 

In  the  following  statements  the  term  "  hour  "  means  one 
class  exercise  of  prepared  work  each  week  for  one  semester. 


27 

An  "  hour  "  of  laboratory  or  similar  work  should  be  two  and 
one  half  actual  hours. 

i.  Number  of  hours  required  for  a  degree.  The 
minimum  shall  be  120,  in  addition  to  the  work  prescribed 
in  physical  training  and  in  public  rhetorical  exercises. 
These  hours  shall  be  distributed  as  follows  :  in  the  Fresh- 
man year,  16  hours  ;  in  the  Sophomore  year,  15  hours  ;  in 
the  Junior  year,  15  hours  ;  in  the  Senior  year  14  hours. 

2.  The  studies  of  the  course.  In  language  better  re- 
sults will  be  obtained  by  reducing  the  number  of  different 
languages  now  required,  both  for  admission  and  in  college. 
One  or  two  foreign  languages  can  be  carried  far  enough  to 
approach  mastery,  but  not  more  than  two  unless  the  stu- 
dent have  exceptional  linguistic  ability.  Mental  discipline 
and  the  surer  knowledge  essential  to  culture  will  be  better 
served  by  a  more  advanced  study  of  one  or  two  languages 
than  by  the  mere  elementary  study  of  four.  With  this  aim 
in  view,  it  shall  be  required  of  every  Freshman  in  the  A.B. 
course  to  continue  Latin  for  a  fifth  year  of  study  in  the 
subject,  and  to  continue  the  study  of  the  second  foreign 
language  presented  by  him  for  admission  to  college  until  he 
shall  have  completed  in  the  same  four  years  work  in  all.  It 
shall  be  required  of  every  Freshman  in  the  B.S.  course  that 
he  continue  each  of  the  foreign  languages  offered  for  ad- 
mission to  college  until  he  shall  have  completed  in  each  of 
them  four  years  work  in  all.  To  these  rules  one  single  ex- 
ception shall  be  allowed,  viz.  Freshmen  who  have  not  pre- 
sented Greek  for  admission,  and  who  begin  its  study  in  col- 
lege, may  substitute  Greek  for  the  fifth  year  of  Latin  re- 
quired of  them,  or  for  the  required  fourth  year  of  other 
foreign  language  work. 

Mathematics  shall  be  required  of  all  Freshmen  who  do 
not  present  "Advanced  Mathematics"  for  admission. 

There  shall  be  prescribed  for  all  Freshmen  a  course,  of 
not  less  than  three  hours  per  week  through  the  first  semes- 
ter, in  Physiology  and  Private  and  Public  Hygiene. 


28 

There  shall  be  prescribed  for  all  Freshmen  through  the 
second  semester  a  course  in  Psychology. 

There  shall  be  arranged  a  thorough  course  in  Biblical 
Literature  and  History,  which  shall  take  the  place  of  the 
courses  now  offered  one  hour  each  per  week  in  Biblical 
Study. 

3.  Studies  of  the  Freshman  year.  The  studies  of 
the  first  year  shall  all,  with  the  slight  modifications  noted 
below,  be  prescribed  as  follows  : 

In  the  A.B.  Course.  In  the  B.  S.  Course. 

Physical  Training  Physical  Training 

Public  Rhetorical  Exercises    Public  Rhetorical  Exercises 
Mathematics  .Mathematics 

English  English 

Physiology,  Hygiene,  Physiology,  Hygiene, 

(half  year)  (half  year) 

Psychology,  (half  year)  Psychology,  (half  year) 

Latin  (or  Greek),  and  one  of    Two  of  these:  Greek,  Latin, 
Greek,  German,  French,  German,  French,  Spanish. 

Spanish. 

The  rule  for  the  study  of  foreign  language  has  been 
stated  above.  If  a  student  has  presented  advanced  mathe- 
matics for  admission,  he  shall  take  in  place  of  mathematics 
Physics  (or  other  science). 

As  a  fundamental  principle  no  student  shall  be  allowed 
to  repeat  in  college,  as  a  part  of  the  work  for  his  degree, 
work  done  before  entrance. 

4.   Studies  of  the  Sophomore,  Junior  and  Senior  Years. 

After  Freshman  year  the  studies  of  the  course  shall  be 
arranged  by  classifying  the  various  departments  of  in- 
struction in  groups,  following  in  a  general  way  the  system 
of  grouping  now  used  in  Dartmouth  College  so  far  as  it  is 
applicable  to  Hamilton.     These  groups  are  : 

Group  I.  Group  II.  Group  III. 

Language  and     Mathematics,  and  the     History,  the 
Literature  Physical  and  Nat-       Social  Sciences, 

ural  Sciences.  and  Philosophy. 


29 

Every  student  shall  be  required  to  complete  at  least  24 
semester  hours  in  one  of  these  groups,  and  at  least  12 
semester  hours  in  each  of  the  other  two  groups. 

General  Recommendations. 

1.  Immediate  provision  for  instruction  in  Hygiene,  both 
personal  and  social,  and  in  Physical  Training.  The  ap- 
pointment for  this  work  of  a  professor  who  is  a  physician, 
and  also  an  expert  in  this  field  which  is  now  universally 
recognized  in  American  colleges  as  of  prime  importance. 
It  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  professor  to  examine  each 
Freshman  at  entrance,  and  to  prescribe  for  him  such 
general  or  special  exercise  and  training  as  his  case  demands. 
He  shall  also  give  a  course  of  instruction  in  Physiology 
and  Hygiene,  (which  shall  be  required  of  all  Freshmen,) 
and  shall  have  charge  of  the  gymnasium,  and  shall  control 
all  the  athletic  sports  of  the  college  in  so  far  as  they  affect  the 
health  of  the  students. 

2.  Provision  for  more  extended  instruction  in  the  Spanish 
language  and  literature,  and  in  the  history,  and  political 
and  economic  conditions  of  Latin  America. 

3.  Provision  for  further  work  than  is  now  possible  in  the 
laboratories  of  Physics,  and  of  Earth  Science. 

4.  Appropriation  of  money  for  the  purchase  of  books. 

5.  Provision  for  lectures  in  important  fields  of  learning 
not  directly  represented  in  the  curriculum,  but  in  which 
some  knowledge  is  of  general  educational  value,  as  in  the 
Fine  Arts,  for  example.  Further  for  Musical  recitals  of 
the  character  already  established  by  members  of  the  Faculty. 
Arrangements  for  the  admission  of  other  than  regular  stu- 
dents to  such  exercises  as  they  may  desire  to  attend,  upon 
payment  of  a  proper  fee. 

6.  The  appointment  of  a  joint  committee  of  the  trustees 
and  the  faculty  to  consider  means  of  promoting  closer  rela- 
tions between  the  College  and  the  secondary  schools. 


flW 


APPENDIX. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Commission  on  May  n,  Mr.  T.  F. 
Collier  presented  an  extended  comparison  of  the  amount  of 
instruction  given  in  thirteen  colleges  in  the  departments  of 
History,  Economics,  and  Political  Science.  These  figures 
showed  the  whole  number  of  students  in  each  of  these 
institutions,  the  whole  number  of  the  faculty  and  the  num- 
ber of  instructors  in  the  subjects  named  in  each  college, 
together  with  the  total  number  of  class  room  hours  of  in- 
struction in  these  departments.  The  following  is  a  summary 
of  his  findings. 

The  colleges  compared  are  :  Amherst,  Bowdoin,  Colgate, 
Hamilton,  Haverford,  Lafayette,  Middlebury,  Rutgers, 
Trinity,  Wabash,  Washington  and  Lee,  Wesleyan,  Williams. 

The  average  number  of  class  room  hours  of  instruction  in 
all  of  them  is  for  American  History,  1 70  ;  European  History, 
63  ;  Economics,  270  ;  Political  Science,  124.  The  figures 
for  Hamilton  are  respectively,  178,  36,  134,  149. 

The  number  of  instructors  in  the  subjects  at  Hamilton  is 
three,  which  is  the  average  number  for  all  the  colleges 
named,  and  is  a  larger  nuniber  in  proportion  to  the  whole 
number  of  students  than  any  other  college  but  one. 

The  conclusion  is  that  Hamilton  does  not  make  in  her 
present  curriculum  adequate  provision  for  instruction  in 
History,  Economics,  and  Sociology. 


